The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Harvey Mudd College offers the following information to help answer some common questions about the new curriculum in Humanities and Social Sciences beginning in 2006-2007. However, the final and binding statement of the curriculum is the one approved by the Harvey Mudd College faculty.

Why have the Humanities and Social Sciences requirements changed?
To whom do these changes apply?
What are the changes in a nutshell?
How does the new curriculum affect flexibility and electivity?
What does this mean for the departmental requirement?
Can the departmental requirement be further reduced?
I've already taken Hum 2. How does that affect my curriculum?
How will the new distribution requirement work?
How does the distribution requirement work for interdisciplinary concentrators?
How have the rules for the concentration changed?
Why has Hum 2 been replaced?
Won't the elimination of Hum 2 mean a decrease in writing instruction?
What is the role of petitions?

Why have the Humanities and Social Sciences requirements changed?
Like all departments in the college, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences periodically undergoes a review of its effectiveness in regard to its mission. The department met extensively with students and other faculty, conducted surveys, collected data on writing, and had a committee of respected academics from outside the college visit and offer their evaluation and recommendations. With all these data, the department then met many times to discuss how our curriculum could be improved, especially in light of changes both in and outside of the college. The department finally decided on a set of revisions that we felt would enhance students' education while offering more flexibility within the practical constraints of what our department can offer. These changes were approved by the full faculty of Harvey Mudd College on February 23, 2006.

To whom do these changes apply?
These changes are effective July 1, 2006. Therefore they apply to all students of the class of 2007 and later. Students of the class of 2006 are not affected. Students of the classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009 may elect to graduate under either the old or the new requirements. However, since the new requirements represent a considerable liberalization, it is unlikely that a student's curriculum could satisfy the old but not the new requirements. Students of the class of 2010 and later must follow the new requirements.

What are the changes in a nutshell?
Here are the main changes: 1) Hum 2 has been replaced with a required elective in Humanities and Social Sciences, which may be taken either in our department or off campus. 2) The distribution requirement is reduced by one course. 3) The seminar requirement has been replaced by a strengthened commitment to writing in many of our upper division courses, but no other formal requirement. 4) Concentrations must be chosen from a list of named programs and departments at the 5Cs. 5) Students who concentrate in an area not represented in our department may qualify for a further reduction of one course in the departmental requirement. 6) Graduate instructors will be phased out in Hum 1 sections and replaced with full-time humsoc faculty.

How does the new curriculum affect flexibility and electivity?
Given the course offerings in our department as well as the other Claremont Colleges, students already have a great many choices in how they may fulfill their distribution and concentration requirements. Recognizing that scheduling constraints often make it difficult to fully take advantage of this diversity, the new curriculum offers several more degrees of freedom for students. Whereas in the old model, most students had only one completely free humsoc elective (that is, a course which did not have to count either towards the distribution or concentration), now there are three such courses. (However, Hum 2 will normally count as an elective for students who have taken it already--see below.) Interdisciplinary concentrators may have even more, since courses can continue to satisfy both the distribution and concentration requirements at the same time. In addition, the elimination of the seminar requirement and the reduction of the departmental requirement add yet more degrees of flexibility.

What does this mean for the departmental requirement?
Harvey Mudd students are required to take a total of 12 courses in Humanities and Social Sciences. Under the old curriculum, 7 of those courses (including Hum 1 and Hum 2) had to be taken with departmental faculty. Because of the replacement of Hum 2 with a required elective which may be either on or off campus, the number of departmental courses effectively drops from 7 to 6. See also the next question below.

Can the departmental requirement be further reduced?
When a student must take all concentration courses off campus because our department does not regularly offer courses in that area area (dance or linguistics for example), there is a further reduction of one course from this requirement. The department will maintain a list of these concentrations. Students who study abroad or in an approved exchange program and submit an essay about their experience to the department chair also qualify for a reduction of the departmental requirement by one. However, students may use such a waiver of a departmental requirement course only once. For example, a student who studies abroad AND concentrates in an off-campus area still only qualifies for a one course reduction in the departmental requirement.

I've already taken Hum 2. How does that affect my curriculum?
The Hum 2 class you have taken will count as a departmental elective. It may not count towards the distribution or concentration requirements, though it does count as one of your departmental courses. Therefore, if you have taken Hum 1 and Hum 2, the minimum number of departmental courses after the first year is reduced from five to four at most.

How will the new distribution requirement work?
In the old distribution requirement, students were required to take two courses from each of the three distribution areas (arts and languages, humanities, and social sciences). Moreover, the two in each of those areas had to be from different disciplines, ensuring that the student would take courses from at least six different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. In this new distribution requirement, students are freed from the requirement that they take a second course in the distribution area of their concentration, effectively reducing the number of distribution courses from six to five. For example, if you were to concentrate in economics, under the old system you would be required to also take another social science course outside of economics--in political studies, for example, or psychology. Under the new system, you will no longer have to take this additional course in the distribution area of your concentration.

How does the distribution requirement work for interdisciplinary concentrators?
Because concentration courses still satisfy distribution requirements as well, interdisciplinary concentrators continue to have the potential for more flexibility, as their concentration courses may count in more than one distribution area. However, because of the change in the distribution requirement, we now need to identify a primary distribution area associated with each interdisciplinary concentration in order to know which distribution areas the student needs to fulfill with two different courses, and which distribution area may be fulfilled with two courses in the same discipline. For example, this department considers an American Studies concentration to be primarily associated with the humanities distribution. Therefore, the humanities distribution could be fulfilled with two American Studies courses, but in the arts/languages and social sciences distributions, an American Studies concentrator would still need to take courses from two distinct disciplines, though American Studies courses could be among them. Students may not switch the distribution area associated with an interdisciplinary concentration to suit their particular case, and the department will maintain a list of the distribution areas of concentrations.

How have the rules for the concentration changed?
The concentration still consists of four courses in a single discipline which in most cases extend to advanced work. However, concentrations now have to be chosen from a list of liberal arts disciplines recognized as distinct and named programs or departments in Claremont. The department will maintain a list of these approved areas. For example, Italian Studies would no longer be an acceptable concentration as there is no distinct Italian Studies department or program in Claremont. However, Gender Studies is still an acceptable concentration as it is recognized as a separate program at the 5Cs. Also, concentrations now have to be declared to your advisor no later than the sixth semester.

Why has Hum 2 been replaced?
The department felt that the benefit of offering students some electivity in the first year of the core curriulum outweighed the benefits of Hum 2. Also, our data and recommendations of outside evaluators convinced the department that the benefits of Hum 2 did not justify the "expense" of offering the course. With the current size of the college, staffing the course as a relatively small seminar has become very difficult and has increased our reliance on graduate instructors in Hum 1 and other part-time instructors. As good as these instructors have been, we feel it is more important and beneficial to have full-time faculty of this department in front of our new students from the very beginning.

Won't the elimination of Hum 2 mean a decrease in writing instruction?
Our department's and college's commitment to the importance of writing and communication is unchanged. However, our self-study showed that an emphasis on writing was most effective and needed in the first semester and in upper division courses. Therefore, this department has resolved to emphasize writing even more in its upper division offerings instead of Hum 2 to offer students continued practice of skills they honed in Hum 1. While this emphasis was often a part of seminar courses, with the elimination of the seminar requirement, those goals have been distributed to many of our other courses. Of course, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences is not the only place for writing in a student's curriculum, and it is important that students continue to practice these skills in the core and the major as well.

What is the role of petitions?
The petition process is unchanged. Students who feel that special circumstances merit an exception from published requirements may submit a written petition to the department.